emitting a very high frequency electronic pulse

The legendary Mayo Clinic is involved in research for a completely new and novel medical device which could function as an alternative to weight loss surgery. The gadget which would be implanted inside the patient would block the vagal nerve which would make overweight and obese men and women feel completely full after eating a normal meal. The device which works electrically has been designed to be a simpler and easily reversible alternative to bariatric surgery which minimises the capacity of the stomach.

The device has been undergoing clinical testing for the last six months in Mexico, Australia and Norway on 31 obese volunteers. The therapy which is sometimes referred to as Vagal Blocking Therapy was helpful in that the volunteers lost on average almost fifteen percent of their excess body weight, with five percent of the volunteers shedding more than 25 percent of excess body weight and three of the volunteers losing over 30%.

The research which was published in the medical journal Surgery and which was led by Doctor Michael Camilleri is interesting in that none of the volunteers were put on diets or even given any counselling that normally accompanies weight loss initiatives. He went on to say that this was done so that the level of weight loss attributed to the electronic device could be evaluated alone and independently of any other factors.

The device works by emitting a very high frequency electronic pulse which prevents nerve impulses functioning between the brain, stomach and pancreas and therefore acts as an extremely effective appetite suppressant. Doctor Camilleri likened the device to a pacemaker which can be controlled by the patient.

Following on from these impressive results more clinical tests which will involve as many as 300 men and women in a number of different places in America are to be conducted. The tests will be an independent double blind study which are hoped to produce similar results to the first lot of testing.